Too Soft

The few police cars stopped in front of the hotel before a few tall and well-built policemen exited the car.

One of them wore a windbreaker. With his windswept white hair and a relatively short and plump figure, the policeman made his way to the front. Glancing at the Bentley parked there, he soon looked at everyone standing at the entrance with a strict expression.

When he noticed Yang Chen, this aged Caucasian revealed a joyous smile and approached him.

“Are you Mr Yang from China?” the policeman asked.

Yang Chen frowned a little as he looked at Goodman beside. Since the police managed to react so quickly, Yang Chen couldn’t help but suspect that a busybody had made a report.

Goodman wasn’t foolish. He hurriedly waved his hands and said with an innocent face, “Director Yang, I didn’t make a report to the police. I really know nothing at all!”

Yang Chen turned his head back to the police. Smiling, he said, “I am. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“I’m Bolton from the anti-terrorism group in the Paris police department. We have reason to believe that Mr Yang is heavily involved in the kidnap and murder cases which had taken place near Romilly-sur-Seine around two hours ago.” Bolton received a piece of paper from the policeman standing beside him. “This is our warrant. May I ask Mr Yang to immediately return to the police station with us to aid in our investigation?”

Yang Chen looked around. There were around ten policemen gazing upon him as if he was the prey. He couldn’t help but say, “Officer Bolton, would you just excuse me for a minute? I have some private matters to take care of. You’re causing a huge commotion here which will terrify everyone.”

“We have to do what’s required. A shootout is incredibly serious. We have to be extremely cautious towards Mr Yang,” Bolton said with a cold smile, “If Mr Yang hopes to get a defence council, you may do so after getting to the police station with us. Don’t worry, we won’t mistreat foreign guests.”

After Bolton finished speaking, Bolton signalled his subordinates. Two policemen then went behind Yang Chen and held both his arms before sending him into one of the cars.

“Stop! What are you guys doing?!”

Everyone turned around to have a look. Lin Ruoxi who had entered the hotel earlier came out again and yelled at the police.

Lin Ruoxi was initially waiting for Yang Chen and Goodman in the lobby but she heard the police sirens coming from the outside. Worried that Yang Chen might’ve gotten into a trouble, she quickly came out to check the situation out, only to find Yang Chen being shoved into a police car.

“Ruoxi, don’t be reckless. This officer has a warrant. We can’t stop them from bringing Director Yang away,” Goodman said as he blocked Lin Ruoxi, “I believe that the police have misunderstood Mr Yang regarding the kidnapping case earlier which is why they’re taking him away. All we can do now is just provide a lawyer for him. He’ll be fine.”

The other managers from Yu Lei knew that it was time to show their loyalty. Although they were unaware of the situation, they quickly agreed that they’d help Lin Ruoxi solve everything to prevent anything from happening to Yang Chen in Paris.

Yang Chen turned around and winked at Lin Ruoxi. He then signalled her to not worry before lowering his head to enter the car.

Lin Ruoxi was stopped by a bunch of people. At last, all she could do was watch Yang Chen leave with the police. The three police cars came very swiftly and left in the same way.

When the red taillights disappeared on the streets, Lin Ruoxi stood frozen for a long time. Coldly, she said, “Goodman, get me the best lawyer in the entirety of Paris right now. I want you to see to it that Yang Chen is back here before dawn tomorrow!”

Goodman exuded cold sweat. He gestured Lin Ruoxi to calm down. Smiling, he said, “Ruoxi, don’t worry. I’ll get this done personally. Director Yang is my lifesaver so I can’t let anything bad happen to him. I believe that some rest is in order. You may return to your hotel room. I’m here to make sure everything is properly dealt with.”

Although Lin Ruoxi wasn’t put at ease, she was sure that Goodman was the better candidate to solve the problem as she was unfamiliar with Paris. Thus, she listened to Goodman and went back to the hotel to rest. However, her mind was filled with the thought of Yang Chen. It was going to be a sleepless night.

On the other hand, Yang Chen had no realization of being a ‘suspect’. During his journey to the police station, he spoke fluently in French to the policemen about the ladies he had seen on the streets, causing them to get speechless. They had felt the dire urge to tape his mouth shut.

After around ten minutes, Yang Chen was brought into the office building of the Paris police department. Although it was nighttime and most police officers had gone off for the day, the lights were still on.

Yang Chen was handcuffed, with two strong policemen holding him. They followed Officer Bolton into the elevator.

On the control panel of the elevator, other than the buttons for each floor, there was a numeric keypad as well.

Bolton’s thick fingers quickly inserted a long series of numbers before the elevator turned red. Soon, it started descending…

However, on the control panel, there weren’t signs of a basement.

“Tsk, tsk. Officer Bolton, I didn’t know this station had an underground base,” Yang Chen said as he looked around excitedly.

Bolton felt a major headache coming round the longer he stood in this suspects vicinity. His mouth twitched a little before he said, “Mr Yang, you’re impressively calm indeed, but you’re speaking a bit too much.”

Around thirty seconds later, the elevator finally stopped. The sliding door opened, revealing a pathway with a metal structure. The white LED’s placed behind seams shone light in the entire space, looking like a scene from a science fiction movie.

On both sides, there were a few rooms covered with tempered glass. Various highly advanced equipment were laid there. Complicated data and a few live capture from surveillance cameras were shown on the huge LCD screens. There were one or two people dressed in white robes working in each of the completely soundproof rooms.

Being held by two officers, Yang Chen followed Bolton through the long pathway and arrived at the end, outside an alloy gate.

Bolton placed his palm to the fingerprint scanner by the door. After a scan, the gate was instantly opened.

Bolton looked back and signalled the two officers before they let go of Yang Chen and left.

“Mr Yang, please enter.” Bolton’s exceptionally cold expression and appearance had a day-and-night difference when the aura he exuded was compared to his chubby body.

Yang Chen tried to suppress his laughter as he looked at him. “Mr Bolton, you look more pleasant before than you do now,” he said before walking inside.

It was an interrogation room made of alloy with an area of more than 100 square meters. Cameras were placed all around and there were pathways at all four directions.

Currently, a burly man with blonde, curly hair was seated behind the table placed at the center. There stood two armed soldiers who were as straight as javelins beside him. They were the French soldiers, more specifically, the anti-terrorism special forces.

Bolton approached the man and delivered a military salute respectfully. “Reporting to Deputy Director, the suspect Yang Chen has been brought for questioning.”

“Thanks, Bolton.” The man nodded slightly at Bolton before looking at Yang Chen. “Mr Yang, you may have a seat. Let’s talk.”

Yang Chen walked forward and sat down opposite the man. Although he was handcuffed, he faced no difficulty in pulling the chair.

The man’s eyes flashed. Evidently, Yang Chen’s indifferent attitude had proven that he was no ordinary man.

“I wonder if Mr Yang has heard of us before. We’re from Directorate-General for External Security, also known as the Seventh Bureau. In a way, we’re like China’s security department. I’m Fodessa, the deputy director here. Bolton is my attendant, also the leader of the anti-terrorism group in the Paris police department,” introduced Fodessa.

Yang Chen nodded and revealed a so-this-is-the-case expression. It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard of the Seventh Bureau before. Compared to the world’s best—America’s FBI, Britain’s Security Service, Russia’s KGB, and Israel’s Mossad, it was indeed too ‘soft’, so pathetically soft…

Built by the French hero General Charles de Gaulle from World War II, although, its development speed did not match match the French international status. It was considered an ordinary security organization of a country, unlike America’s Blue Storm which was a poweruser organization. While the other major spy organizations all had similar teams, France only had ‘ordinary humans’.

“I’m not too familiar with you, but I have indeed heard of you all,” Yang Chen answered honestly.

“Very nice.” Fodessa was able to tell that Yang Chen was speaking the truth. He took an image out from his shirt pocket and delivered it to Yang Chen. “Mr Yang, you wouldn’t happen to be familiar with this thing, would you?”